Key Tasks for Establishing the Systems

Building sustainable agricultural systems requires that various programs be instituted for each field. Based on a comprehensive consideration of the sustainable agricultural policy inventory and case studies from major countries, a total of 11 key tasks are examined below; two tasks in the economic aspect, three in the environmental aspect, three in the social aspect and three in the governance respectively <Figure 7-5>.

Figure 7-5. Key tasks for establishing sustainable agricultural systems

3.1. Economic Aspect

3.1.1. Integrate agricultural policies and environmental policies

The biggest factors negatively affecting farmers in practicing sustainable agriculture practice were found to be economic factors (40.5%), of which the increased production cost is the main cause. For this reason, it is critical that appropriate solutions are sought to remedy this. In addition, farmers view the promotion of consumption and distribution (42.3%), the building of production bases (32.0%), and the expansion of direct-payment (23.8%) as other key tasks to be focused on for establishing sustainable agricultural systems. It is important to seek appropriate policy responses to these means and so it is necessary to promote the integration between agricultural policies and environmental policies (policy integration)while at the same time properly combining economic means and regulatory means (policy mix) so as to maximize policy performance.

As revealed in the analysis of farmers’ responses to sustainable agriculture, policies to preserve the farmers’ income play an important role in expanding sustainable agriculture. Also, as shown in the policy effect analysis, the environment-friendly direct payment has a significant impact on sustainable agriculture. It is therefore necessary to consider introducing an environmental cross-compliance program; one that links environment conservation conditions and financial payments together as an instrument of income protection. The expectation is that the introduction of such a program would preserve farmer income and increase the acceptability of policy programs.

Inducing a reduction in the use of chemical materials also requires the application of economic means, such as emission trading schemes and eco-taxes on fertilizers and pesticides, based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle , in the mid to long-term. An emission trading scheme and eco-taxes were evaluated as the third and fourth priority respectively during the comprehensive evaluation of the priorities of policy means.

The introduction of market-oriented policy means can also be seen as tasks to be reviewed preferentially in order to build sustainable agricultural systems.

For example, for the emissions trading market, the government enforced “the

law on allocation and trading of greenhouse gas emissions” in accordance with Article 46 (Introduction of Capped Emissions Trading Scheme) of the Green Act in May 2012. The capped emissions trading scheme can benefit the agriculture, forestry, livestock and food sectors, by giving credits to those who reduce emissions and having them trade those credits at the emissions trading market. In the arable farming sector, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers will lead to reduction in greenhouse gases²².The emissions trading scheme allows those who have reduced emissions, for example through reduced usage of chemical fertilizers, to sell their reductions on the emissions trading market.

In this way, the emissions trading scheme helps farmers realize economic benefits and incentivizes them to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers.

Conversely, it is necessary to reduce or abolish those subsidies that encourage unsustainable farming practices and to provide appropriate incentives (i.e.

direct payment)for farming activities above the reference level. For example, when a farmer practices precision farming techniques such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), he should receive incentives.

The survey of farmers’ responses shows that the biggest challenge for practicing sustainable agriculture is the uncertainty of sustainable agriculture technologies (55.8%). In fact, there are many concerns about the reduction of production and income as a result of practicing sustainable agriculture (organic farming, etc.). It is critical that institutional frameworks be prepared so as to enable risk management through insurance (by operating general organic farming insurance plans, such as organic farming practice insurance and consumers’ peace-of-mind insurance, for Jeollanam-do Provinces) so that stable production can be maintained.

22 Chemical fertilizer usage in 2013 was 187K tons, falling to 157K tons by 2020; a greenhouse gas reduction of 93K tons (Jeong Hak-kyun, Kim Chang-gil, Moon Dong-hyun, 2014).

3.1.2. Promote the market-coordination functions based on value chains

In the survey of farmers, most respondents selected “promotion of consumption and distribution” (42.3%) as a project to be focused on. Smooth operation of sustainable agricultural systems requires the building of markets in which agricultural products can be recognized for their appropriate values.

It is desirable that a stable supply system be built for safe agricultural produce. This can be done by highlighting the aspect of green consumption, i.e.

by reflecting the environmental integrity of basic value chains of agriculture, i.e., production, processing, distribution and consumption, based on sustainable agriculture. Harvard University Professor, Michael Porter postulates that if the environmental integrity is incorporated into the value chains, it is ultimately possible to obtain environmental and economic profits at the same time (Lee Byeong-wook, Hwang Geum-joo and Kim Nam-gyu, 2005).

In order to raise awareness of food safety, among farmer who practice sustainable agriculture, it is necessary to strengthen the pesticide residue tests at the production and shipping stages. This would facilitate a variety of safety-related measures such as delaying the shipment of unsafe agricultural produce or even discarding it. Scientific, evidence based information needs to be provided for consumers. This will allow them to accurately understand the impacts of corresponding produce on the environment and request improvement. Distribution strategies to sell agricultural produces trusted by the consumers, while minimizing environmental dysfunctions, are also required (Cheong Hoon-hui, Kim Sa-gyun and Heo Seung-wook, 2009). It is desirable to analyze and predict consumers’ preferences and social conditions, and then introduce and operate green marketing systems based on the results of that analysis.

3.2. Environmental Aspect

3.2.1. Build agri-environmental resource management systems

In order to firmly establish sustainable agricultural systems, it is necessary to build an effective and efficient, environment-friendly, agricultural resource management system. For this, an agri-environmental information database and agri-environmental indicators need to be developed and continuously updated, to allow for the status of each field of agri-environmental resources to be diagnosed(Kim Chang-gil, Kim Tae-young and Joo Hyeon-jeong, 2008). The agri-environmental indicators were first developed in 2002 in response to discussions within the OECD agri-environmental policy committee, but have not been properly updated. The continuous update of the agri-environmental indicators, coupled with ongoing, active participation in the discussion of indicator development is required, if Korea is to proactively respond to international discussions on the development of sustainable agriculture.

In order to realize effective agri-environmental resource management, it is important to first develop the infrastructure for system transition. To that end, a comprehensive manual for systematic management of agri-environmental resources, such as soil, air and water needs to be both developed and distributed. Concurrent with this, the present “survey of agri-environmental variability” needs to be both expanded and reorganized into a “development and operation of agri-environmental resources information system”. In particular, an institutional system for soil management needs to be developed.

According to the survey in which professionals’ recognition of soil management policies was measured, soil and nutrient management is the key to establishing sustainable agricultural systems. In the comprehensive evaluation of the priorities of policy means, soil management, by means of soil testing and fertilizer prescription, ranked very high; the second rank. In the survey of professionals the prescription of fertilizer usage based on soil test data contributes to sustainable nutrient management was heavily selected (76.6%).

The professionals further indicated that they agreed with the statements that fertilizer usage based on soil test data increases the crop yield (69.5%), improves its quality (88.2%), and increases the farmers’ income as well

(70.0%). Also, the percentage of responses agreeing with the statement that that it is necessary to expand the soil test program for sustainable nutrient management was as high as 78.4%. Given this, it is necessary to build an IT-based optimal resource management program for arable lands, in conjunction with programs to expand fertilizer usage prescription on the basis of soil test data. It is also necessary to expand soil testing in major crop producing areas, as this will allow the development and use of a soil test database for arable lands across the country (159 cities and counties). A foundation for scientific farming should be established, achieved by means of an electronic connection between the fertilizer usage prescription database of the RDA’s Korean Soil Information System and the MAFRA AGRIX system.

It is necessary component of the sustainable agricultural practices that a standard for the optimal range of nutrients in the arable land be set, and analysis methods legislated. Best management practices for pH, EC, organic matter, effective phosphoric acid content, exchangeable cations and effective silicon content in arable lands should be established, based on both domestic and internationally sourced research results. For this, it is necessary to review the standards for sustainable agriculture set out in Article 18 “Standards and goals of the domestic environment-friendly farming and fisheries” of the Law on Fostering of Environment-friendly Farming and Fisheries and Management and Support Organic Foods” (Law No. 12515, partially revised on March 24, 2014), and specify the soil analysis methods in Article 6 of the Enforcement Rules of the said Law. According to the research results of National Academy of Agricultural Science, the optimal ranges of nutrients in the arable lands are as follows: pH (5.5~6.5 for rice paddies, 6.0~7.0 for fields), EC(2.0 dsm^-1for both rice paddies and fields), organic matter (20~30 gkg^-1,for rice paddies and fields, 25~35 gkg^-1for protected farms), effective phosphoric acid content (80~120 mgkg^-1for rice paddies, 300~550 mgkg^-1 for fields and protected farms), effective silicon content (157 mgkg^-1or higher for rice paddies).²³

Systematic management of agri-environmental resource information requires regular monitoring of the amounts of chemical and organic fertilizers used, the

23 Proposals regarding legislation on the optimal ranges of nutrients in the arable lands, for the sustainable agricultural practices, refers comes from the results of research commissioned to Dr. Cho In-sang of the Institute of Rural Development (Cho In-sang, 2014).